An Initial Public Offering (IPO) is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. An underwriting firm helps the previously private company determine an offering price and brings it to the market. IPOs can be very risky but also very rewarding; who wouldn’t hope of achieving returns similar to the ones achieved by investors who bought Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) at its IPO? More →

Australia has a stable and transparent economy, is rich in natural resources and the AUD currently looks cheap.

The Australian stock index consists of mostly financials but all have excellent ratings.

Only 0.09% of the S&P 500 revenues are generated in Australia therefore Australia provides additional international diversification.

Introduction

Australia is a country with a population of approximately 23.5 million people, highly developed with a GDP of $47,186 per capita, low unemployment rate of 6.1% and low government debt at 35% of GDP (US 125.3% of GDP). The long term interest rate is at 1.75% and the country is ranked in 13th place on the global doing business list. The Australian economy grew 3% in 2015 and it is dominated by the service sector representing 68%, followed by the mining sector that represents 7% of the economy. The above seems stable and therefore this article is going to provide an analysis about the potential risks and rewards of investing in Australia. More →

The current is the fourth-longest US economic expansion period with 84 months of growth.

Investment spending has been declining for the last 4 quarters.

Recession forecasts indicate increased chances in the medium term.

Introduction

The scariest word for any investor is the word recession. A recession arises when there is negative economic growth for two consecutive quarters. No economic growth makes it difficult for businesses to grow as people tend to spend less and save until better times come around. This creates a spiral as less spending forces companies to lay off employees and further cuts investments. If prolonged economic hardships persist, governments intervene with quantitative easing or with other projects to get the economy going again. A recession has an immediate negative impact on financial markets as investors become more risk averse and seek security above all. More →

Production costs are below current prices and reserves are constantly growing.

OPEC’s rosy forecast of $70 a barrel in 2020 is based on a model excluding any disruptions from electric engines or renewable technology developments.

Demand in developed countries is declining and the trend might spill over to developing countries.

Introduction

Oil prices above $100 a barrel seem impossible but they were a common thing just two years ago. 2014 was the worst year for oil as it tumbled more than 50% from above $100 to below $50 a barrel. In January 2016, oil reached lows not seen since 2001 and 9/11 with prices below $30. The current price of oil quickly rebounded from those lows and is currently around $45 a barrel. More →

Hedge funds have performed miserably in the last bull market but things might turn.

Fees are the deal killer as 2% of assets under management and 20% of profits eats up all the returns.

Introduction

There is currently a negative sentiment towards hedge funds as they mostly underperformed the market in the last 6 years. This article is going to elaborate on how hedge funds work and relate that to the current circumstances in order to assess investment possibilities. More →

Tesla announced building 500,000 cars in 2018 and purchasing the complete current global lithium supply per year.

Lithium is not scarce and could easily get oversupplied even with demand growing.

Other technologies, like vanadium batteries, will always present a threat to lithium.

Introduction

On May 5, Tesla’s (NASDAQ: TSLA) Chairman and CEO Elon Musk announced that TSLA intends to produce half a million cars in 2018. Apart from the craze currently surrounding TSLA, the trend towards electric vehicles is undeniable. An option that does not imply direct investments into electric cars manufacturing companies is an investment in lithium related investments as lithium is the most important material for battery production. This article is going to elaborate further on the investing possibilities, risks and rewards of the lithium option. More →

The report is released on the first Friday of the month for the previous month. It consists of two parts: one presents non-farm payrolls, hours worked and hourly earnings, and the other is created by surveying more than 60,000 households in order to extract the unemployment rate. More →

Small caps have lagged the S&P 500 in the last two years, but historically outperform it.

Stock pickers could find a gem in the small cap world but risks are also big.

Small caps are more related to the US economy than large caps.

What Are Small Caps?

Small caps are stocks with a relatively small market capitalization, usually between $300 million and $2 billion. One of the multitude of reasons behind investing in small caps is their growth potential, as it is generally considered that smaller companies have more growth opportunities due to untapped markets. More →

How would life look if things were as you saw them or exactly like someone presented them? Surreal for sure as it would require a non-human mind to objectively process information and accept a situation as it is. People usually fall in love with the wrong person or feel depressed over nothing important. The same is applicable in business, but it’s strongly biased toward falling in love with one’s business and refusing to see the flaws of it. Such a behavior results in a large gap between pro forma reported earnings and official Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) results. More →

The shift to a service oriented economy lowers Chinese steel demand growth.

Short term euphoria makes iron ore and related assets great for trading.

Introduction

Iron ore is the world’s most mined and commonly used metal as 98% of it is used to make steel. As steel is mostly used for infrastructure and building it is not surprising that China is the world’s biggest consumer of iron. China produces 50% of the world’s steel output and 47% of the world’s iron ore. More →